Missing Ch. 61-70

"I hope so. I regret not killing the three immediately." I talked to a few other people as I drove south towards the Council Headquarters. I arrived with a purpose, parking my SUV and heading into my office. I asked the Chairman's secretary for fifteen minutes of his time at his convenience. In the meantime, I typed up my letter of resignation.

Luna Adrienne was right. When walking on the road, you can be on one side or the other, but wandering down the middle gets you squished. I kept the letter short and simple.

I couldn't quit immediately and keep protecting Bonnie, but I couldn't wait too long and lose her. The actual date I picked was a compromise that I'd thought about since talking to Luna Adrienne. I had to get her past her depression and self-destructive behavior without the Council ordering her death. At the same time, I had to keep her from using my Council association to keep me away. It was a fine line I'd have to walk on the way to a mating bond.

Luna wasn't just giving me a mate, though. She was giving me a headache.

I removed a jump drive from my pocket and started downloading data from the Council servers that might help. Every coyote interaction for the past fifty years, everything we had on the Chemist and his associates, Cartel connections, and current or previous coyote dens. It was gigabytes of data, and it took a while to transfer.

I'd just finished when I got the call that Chairman Sanders was ready to see me. I put the flash drive in my pocket and walked past the other offices until I reached his. "Mr. Chairman, Fixer Lassiter to see you," I sent instead of knocking.

"Come in." The Chairman wasn't alone; Counselor Randall Albertson was sitting on a chair in the corner. His presence wasn't accidental. "Welcome back, Fixer," the Chairman said as he looked up from his computer.

"Thank you, sir. Before we begin, I need to give you this." I handed him my retirement letter.

"You're leaving?"

"It's time for younger Enforcers to take my place. I'm feeling my age more every day."

"You're still formidable as a fighter," Albertson objected.

"I've lost a step, and I don't recover as fast as I used to," I countered. "A wise person knows when it is time to walk away."

Sanders looked up from the paper. "You didn't specify an effective date."

"Yes, sir. There are still cases for me to close out, and I wanted to have a chance to mentor my replacement before I leave."

"You have been. Emily Jones was my choice to be your replacement a year ago, though we assumed she'd have several years to work with you before taking over." I raised my eyebrow at this; she would be the first Female fixer in Council history. "Don't look so shocked. She's intelligent, intuitive, and better at de-escalating situations than the other candidates. I can always find killers; what is rare is finding those who don't need to kill."

"I agree. Emily approaches things from a different perspective and challenges me to find new ways to accomplish my mission."

"Keep training her, and make your final recommendation when you leave. If she isn't ready for the job, we'll assign her to another Fixer to continue her training."

Having Emily around wouldn't help my plan. "Sir, it might be better to reassign her now. As I approach retirement, I'll spend less time in the field, and others will get the new cases. It would make more sense to have Emily work under more than one trainer before giving her the job."

Sanders nodded. "I'll make it happen. I can use you here; we need intelligence on the Were-Coyotes. I don't take kindly to threats, Clyde. We need leverage against them and fast. The best leverage would be to know where they are and to be able to strike when needed."

"The Coyotes timed their reveal with their dens relocating," Albertson added. "They can't hide forever."

Sanders nodded. "The Packs are not ready for exposure to the humans. They won't be for years, if ever. I need you to startup a task force to locate and monitor were-coyotes in North America."

"I'd be honored, sir." This meeting was going better than I expected. It would give me access to resources I could use to find Sean's killers. "What if I find the three involved in the deaths of our two law enforcement agents?"

"Send the tip to the cops. The coyotes will hit the trigger if we go after them." I nodded my understanding. "Now, about the Bonnie situation?"

"She's not making it easy to keep tabs on her, but she isn't threatening you or others. Her Alpha command is holding. She gave us a scare recently in Vermont, but she never came within a hundred miles of the Council headquarters. Based on what she said to the Enforcer checking on her, Bonnie would be fine never seeing a Council employee again."

"That's not surprising," Albertson replied. "She remains a wildcard. At the first indications of madness, we need to eliminate her."

"I agree that she is unstable, but I wouldn't classify her as a threat to us. I've seen this before; she's not going to live long enough to go feral! She's already getting into fights and hanging out with humans. Bonnie will lose herself in the bottle before she dies in a motorcycle accident or loses a knife fight in a biker bar. Either way, we won't need to do anything but wait."

Sanders didn't look convinced. "Do you know where she is now?"

"She crossed the border into Canada this morning, on the road to Montreal."

"She's headed to Minnesota," Sanders said. I raised an eyebrow at this information. "Chairman Wolfe told me that Alpha Leo is hosting a pool party and barbecue contest at his home on Saturday. The Chairman will be attending, and Alpha Leo warned him that Bonnie would be there. I want you there to protect the Regional Chairman."

I didn't change expressions, though I was grinning inside. I was going to see Bonnie again, and it was official Council business. "That's a wise precaution, sir. Miesville will be the first time Tracker Woods will be in the presence of a Council member since Saint Raymond. I need a few days to take care of some business, but I'll be in Miesville before the party."

"Take the time you need, Clyde. What are your plans after retirement?"

"I don't want to die old and alone, gentlemen. I plan to travel and find my mate."

That brought grins to their faces. "I hope you find your mate soon," Sanders said. "I can't imagine a life without mine. You have my respect and my thanks." The two stood and shook my hand.

"Thank you, sir, Counselor." I walked back out, smiling as I closed the door behind me. Luna was on my side!

I broke the news of my retirement to the Enforcers at Headquarters, telling them I would retire after I was satisfied the new Task Force could continue without me. I would let them choose the members, focusing on people with law enforcement and computer backgrounds. I'd be back next Wednesday to kick it off, so they had plenty of time to complete the reassignments.

I didn't feel like punishing myself with a 21-hour marathon freeway drive, not when the weather was nice. Bonnie had the right idea, and I could guess the route she would take on her motorcycle. I'd have followed her, but I wasn't willing to leave my guns at home.

I was willing to use any means, fair or unfair, to keep her alive so we could spend the rest of our days together.

Luna Adrienne had plans to get Bonnie to spend time with me, and I heeded her advice. I left my apartment on my 2018 Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic motorcycle instead of my car.

I also had to learn how to cook baby back ribs. As a long-time bachelor, I'd never had the time or inclination to grill or smoke food. I always ate barbecue at restaurants or Pack houses. Adrienne assured me I could compete in the rib category without ruining the meat. She'd loan me Leo's Traeger pellet smoker and emailed me some video tutorials. I'd watch them at night over takeout ribs and fixings.

I timed the drive around Chicago to miss the morning rush hour, but the traffic still sucked. I stayed at a hotel in Red Wing on Friday night, finalizing my cooking plan.

I arrived at Miesville just after nine in the morning. As the wind was from the south, I got lucky that my scent didn't carry to where Bonnie was working. I checked in with the contest organizers and with Luna Adrienne. "She's been out there since early morning, and she takes this contest seriously," the Luna warned. "I've had a cooler with your ribs and the beers you requested staged at your cooking area, plus utensils and extra pellets. The rest is up to you."

"I'm on it. I have my secret weapon." She rolled her eyes as I reached for the travel coffee cups in her kitchen.

I grabbed what I needed from my saddlebags before making my way out to my assigned cooking area. Bonnie was concentrating on prep, and she and the girls didn't notice me as I set the cardboard container and cups down on the table. I opened the lid of the Traeger smoker and turned it on. The sound of the fan and the auger caught Bonnie's attention.

"What the f... I mean, what are you doing here, Fixer Lassiter?"

"Cooking ribs," I said as I moved to the cooler. I didn't miss the look Bonnie sent Luna Adrienne's way. Instead of saying something to make her mad, I poured steaming hot coffee into one of the travel mugs. She stared at it, knowing the brew was her favorite Caribou Coffee mix of coffee and espresso.

"Is that?" She looked at the container with longing.

I nodded. "Caribou Depth Charge. I like a little pick-up in the morning. Care for a cup?"

"If you have extra."

I looked at the 64-oz container, then poured it into the large travel mug and handed it over. "Yes, I had some help on this," I chuckled.

"Adrienne," she mumbled after taking a sip.

"To answer your next question, yes. I'm here on the orders of the Council because Sanders is concerned about your reaction to Chairman Wolfe's presence today."

"I'd never do anything to put Alpha Leo on the spot," she said defensively.

"I know that, but it means I can write the coffee off as a business expense instead of paying out of pocket," I grinned. "I tried to explain myself the last time. I'm not your enemy. I was shocked at what happened to you and Alpha Leo, but I couldn't change anything."

"You're with them," she said.

"Not for long. I put my retirement papers in this week." The smoker was firing up, the cherrywood creating a haze around us. "I'd like to be your friend."

"Not likely," she grumbled, but she took another sip of my icebreaker.

"I'll settle for your fellow competitor until you warm up to me." Bonnie walked off to search for Luna Adrienne. I could imagine the conversation, with Adrienne refusing to move me to another location and Bonnie threatening physical violence. I focused on prepping my ribs. I had a case of twelve racks of baby backs. Only six ribs would go to judging at 1 PM, while the others would be staggered throughout the afternoon. The attendees were each given three tokens they could use to vote for their favorite ribs, chicken, brisket, or pork. Bonnie had four cans at her station, while I had one. The "People's Choice" award went to the team with the most tokens in their category at the end of the afternoon.

Sharkbait came over to see what I was doing since Amy was in charge of monitoring the temperatures of their team's smokers. I struggled with removing the rib membrane; they made it seem so easy to pull off in the video, but I couldn't get a grip on the slippery film. "Use a paper towel," Sharkbait said. "Like this." She gripped the edge and pulled it off in one long pull.

"Show-off," I said as she held it up for me. "Can you do the others for me?"

She looked over to see a furious Bonnie walking our way. "Sorry. Wrong team."

Bonnie went to work on chicken prep, trimming the thighs and applying her dry rub as she calmed down. The coffee was working its magic, and I got my ribs ready for the next step. I pulled out the dry rub I'd bought at a barbecue place in South Bend. When Bonnie saw I was using a store-bought rub, her eyes rolled so far back she could see her brain. "Seriously? What kind of competitor are you?"

I kept shaking the stuff out and patting down the meat. "I'm doing this to be around you, Bonnie. Today is the first time I've smoked ribs in my life. It didn't look too hard in the videos."

She stared at me, shook her head, then went back to work. I'd just put three racks onto the smoker when Amy and Sharkbait came over to stand by me. "Hey, kiddos."

The two looked at me and started singing. Loud. "Baby shark do do do do do doo, Baby shark do do do do do doo!"

I tried to ignore it, I asked them to stop, but the pair kept singing and making the hand motions. Bonnie didn't know as much about torture techniques as I did, but she knew enough. I held up my hand as they finished their fourth run-through of the song. "Why are you doing this?"

"Bonnie told us to," Amy replied.

I had a plan. I reached into my wallet and pulled out two ten-dollar bills, handing one to each child. "Tell you what," I whispered. "Bonnie LOVES the Spongebob Squarepants song. Can I hire you to sing it for her five times? You're getting paid, so you're professional singers now. Do a good job for me, and make it loud."

The girls looked at the money and agreed, running back to Bonnie's area. Soon the morning air was full of "SPONGE-BOB SQUARE-PANTS, SPONGE BOB SQUARE-PANTS," and Bonnie was the one fuming.

They only did the song once before they came back to me. Both girls handed me their $10 back. "What's going on?"

"Bonnie is giving us $20 to go back to singing Baby Shark to you," Sharkbait said.

I looked at Bonnie as I handed the bills back. "Tell you what. You can keep it all if you go sing Baby Shark five times to Luna Adrienne. Agreed?"

Bonnie started laughing before she agreed, and the girls ran inside to torture everyone in the kitchen. "I don't like you, but I'm starting not to dislike you," she confessed.

"Progress." I could make her like me over the rest of the day. She helped me enough that I didn't embarrass myself with my ribs. I didn't get any tokens, but winning wasn't the point. I had her talking to me, and that was enough.

Once the backyard pool opened, Bonnie lost her helpers, and we started to talk more. I didn't mention us being mates, though.

Sharkbait thought the party was the greatest thing ever. She and Amy spent most of the day in the pool, getting out only to eat ribs from different competitors when they got hungry. Olivia would hose the sauce off their faces and hands behind the garage, then send them to the pool for another hour.

I shamelessly put my three tokens in Bonnie's cans. She was in her element, focusing on the competition and her cooking. She barely noticed Chairman Wolfe when he came through and briefly hugged her Alpha pair when they arrived. I sat with her team during the awards ceremony. Bonnie won a People's Choice for brisket, second place in ribs, and fourth place overall out of the eighteen teams competing in all four categories.

It was a good night for her, and she confessed it was the best day she'd had in months. She socialized more during the party, spending time with her friends and me.

We ended up alone at a table just after sunset. "What are you doing tomorrow," I asked.

"I don't know yet. I want to get away from the crowds staying here for the weekend."

Perfect. "Ride up to the North Shore with me," I offered. "I have something to show you."

"What is it?"

"I have to show it to you, Bonnie. I want to make you smile again. Ask your wolf if you can trust me enough to ride at my side."

She let out a yawn. "We should leave early; I'll be up at six. Bring coffee."

"Thank you." I watched her head inside before I headed to the parking area. I smiled and waved at Luna Adrienne as I fired up my Harley.

It had been a great day.

Ch. 64

Council Fixer Clyde Lassiter's POV

Red Wing, MN

Sunday, May 31, 2020

It didn't take long for me to pack my saddlebags and check out of the hotel. My wolf was excited to be heading back to Miesville to see our mate. After yesterday's progress, I had hopes for our future together.

I hit the Caribou Coffee drive-through just before six. I got two cups of coffee to go, plus they filled my large travel thermos with her favorite brew. I also got a few bags of beans as a gift for the Alphas. It was a short drive to Leo's house from there. A few dozen cars and RVs remained outside, but nothing like yesterday's big party. Luna Adrienne met me at the door, taking the bag with the coffee from me. "She's happy this morning," she told me. "Don't fuck it up."

"Yes, ma'am." I took the coffees into the dining room, where the early risers gathered for breakfast. I set the coffee down in front of Bonnie and the place to her left. Her red hair was in a ponytail, and her green eyes twinkled as she looked up and smiled at me. "Good morning."

"Are you going to tell me the surprise yet?"

"Nope." I went to the counter and filled a plate with breakfast; brisket hash, scrambled eggs, and a pile of bacon. I sat down next to her and dug in since Bonnie only had a few bites left.

"What is your plan for today," Leo asked me.

"I'm going to show her some of my favorite places on the North Shore," I replied. "Now that I'm retiring, I'm looking forward to riding more. Have you ridden there before?"

"Years ago," Leo replied. "Dress in layers. It will be cold anywhere along the lake, even in the middle of the day. It might hit ninety inland, and two miles later, it's forty-five."

I nodded around a forkful of hash. "The water in the main lake is probably forty degrees now." I took a bite of eggs and stared at Bonnie as she swiped a piece of bacon. She bit into it with a smile, teasing me. I handed her two more pieces. "I grabbed extra because I know you," I said.

"You didn't grab enough."

Anthony and Pamela came into the room looking tired and hungover. Anthony had something in his hand. "You left this at home, but you might need it," he said as he gave the pistol to Bonnie.

She checked her Ed Brown.45, then put the gun and holster into the right-side pocket of her jacket. "Thanks. I didn't want to bring it through Canada." She looked at me. "We aren't going to Canada, right?"

"Not this trip." I finished up, and Bonnie left to get her motorcycle packed. "Thank you for breakfast."

"Be careful with her, Clyde. Bonnie is fragile right now. I can't believe she agreed to go with you."

"I will." I headed out to my bike to find Bonnie waiting in the saddle of her ride. "Do you have Bluetooth in your helmet?" She did, and it took a few minutes for our systems to sync up so we could talk during our trip. I handed her a flash drive. "I told you I was on your side, and I meant it. You could leave me right now, and you'll still have everything I do on the coyotes. We would be more effective working together, so I hope you'll stay with me and listen to my offer."

She put the drive in a pocket in her jacket. "Work with you or the Council?"

"I'll keep you away from them," I promised. I told Bonnie we'd head north on Interstate 35 to Duluth, then follow Highway 61 to Two Harbors. This would be a pizza run after the road trips we'd recently completed. "Let's enjoy the ride." I fired up my Harley and followed her out.

I found out that Bonnie liked to ride fast, but the roads were empty and relatively straight. We got out of the Twin Cities in an hour, settling into the highway drive. The Bluetooth technology worked great, allowing us to talk to each other the whole way. It didn't take long to get comfortable riding side-by-side; her motorcycle was more powerful, while mine was better suited to the highway. Since it was something her late mate had restored, she wasn't interested in another. My ride didn't have any such emotional attachments. I'd 'purchased' it from a rogue I'd had to liquidate in Montana.